Insulation



Feb. 18, 1930. lR, B, svUTTER' 1,747,335

INSULATION Filed Nov. 7. 1925 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS PatentedFeb. 1.8, 1930v Y Ninn-STATES .PArenr'oerieE ROSER B. SUTTER, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIG'NOR TO ART I/UlTif-XI4 CONSTRUC- TION COMPANY, OF JAMESTOWN, NEW YORK, '.A. CORPORATION OF IVIASSACIIU'" sETTs INSULATION Application led November 7, 1925. Serial No. 67,517.

of heat transmitted and the consequent temperatures of the interior of the cabinet depends, as one factor, upon the conductivity of the insulating material, and it will be obvious that, this, conductivity remaining substantially constant, the interior temperature ofthe safe or cabinet may riseto a dangerous point if the safe is subjected to the intense heat of a lire for a protracted period.

f Various eXpedients have been resorted to for the purpose of retarding the passage of heat into the interior ofa cabinet so that the contentsfthereof might be :.aflequatelyI protected. It is well known that, if water can be held inthe interior of the safe walls, the temperature of the interior of the safe will be maintained at a much lower temperature than if dry insulation bevprovided; thisfor the reason that the latent heat of vaporizationof water isr very high and much of the heat transmittedvthrough the safe walls is used up in vaporizing the water therein contained. The employment of water in open containers lor the like is unsatisfactory for the reason that the wateriintime evaporates and the 'function intended will therefore not be performed. In safes, at the present time,

salts or hydrates which may be advantageous- Y ly employed, all eflorescing or giving up all or a part of their water of. crystallization at temperatures at or below the maximum temperaturedesired to be maintained in the interior of a safe. are deliquescent, with the consequence that when such materials are. employed, the interior insulation may become wetland the safe walls and lining may be unduly corroded. Again, some salts which otherwise would be available efi'loresce at ordinary temperatures and for that reason are not suitable, since their function would be impaired in the course of time. Again, some water carriers may react with various bodies in which they would ordinarily be held in a safe insulation, and their function of providing water or moisture at the time of a ire 4 thus 'be materially impaired. With all of the above ditiiculties and others in mind, it is the principal object of my invention to provide a thoroughly practical and reliable insulation for safes, vaults, walls, fire doors, partitions and the like, so constructed that in case of a iire moisture will be given up in sufficient quantities and atthe proper rate, so as to adequately protect documents andthe like,protected by my insulation. y i

It is a more specific object to provide aninsulation of the character indicated, in lwhich Some available materialsY would f Ven the moisture carrying media are substantially v uniformly distributed and so held and er`nbodied as to yield their moisturein an .effecmay be employed in insulations of the charac-` ter noted and which will maintain their em# ciency unimpaired for an .indefinite period.v

It is a still more specific object to provide an insulation carrying combined water, which insulation may be dried to a constant weight and will remain dry without aecting the combined water.

Other objects will be apparent as the speciiication proceeds. i

Briefly stated, in the preferred form of the invention I employ Water carriers preferably in the form of hydrates or salts, such as alum lumps or crystals, which may be held or sup- Y orted in a suitablematrix such as fr sum or otherimaterial, .for example, shella'c.

yparticular lcoating to be employed will depend plaster, of Paris. In order to prevent any eiliorescence at ordinary temperatures and to preventichemicalreactions being setup bef tween the particular carriers' employed and surrounding bodies', I preferably coat'all or some of the. lumps ofA aluin'or other material employed with a suitable protecting envelope or covering. This covering should be substantially impervious to moisture at ordinary temperatures, but should be readily frangible at the higher temperatures at-whichit is desired to have the carriers give up their water.

. rIhis envelope may be in the form of acoatin'g Y preferably in the form of lumps or crystals of eiiiorescent- 'salt-s, such as alum. Theselumps ofparafiin, or thecoating may be formed of The somewhat uponlthe particular hydrate or otherwater carrier vemployed and: upon the matrix for body by which it is carried. YVhen heat is transmitted tothe protected bodies of alum: or the like, the protecting envelope or y. coating is readily-melted or broken, andthe water of crystallization given up and vaporized, with thev employment of lelatively'greatv quantities of heat in so doing. If therparticu'- Vlar matrix carrying the protected bodies. bre-` porous, and I prefer to employy a porous matrix, the steam or'vapor generated when theV insulation is subjected to high tempera.

Atures passes throughV the porous matrix, and

.upon reaching the cooler parts thereof again condenses, so as to substantially moisten the Y l, matrix, and this condensedv vapor must again bel 'vaporized' Ybefore the transmitted Vheat passes through the blanket of moistureithus formed.v Obviously, then, it is Vnot only the original water. of crystallization contained in therv hydrate Ywhich.' acts. 'as the protecting blanket orshield, but this water, when vaporized and againk condensedon the cooler parts ofthe.` matrix servesas a further-or constantly advancingblanke't, which takes upv transvmitted heat as' it penetrates Vdeeper intothe insulation. As theV water-of crystallization is given up, the lumps or crystals. decrease in ynivention-f of a Section of insulation illustratingfeatures size, thus leavingA voids or airpocketsinthe `original matrix, which pockets themselves servefas efficient insulators against further p transmission of heat. .Y A

'Inf the drawings which show, for illustra-` tivepurposes only, a preferred r"form ofthe Fig. 'l is an isometric,V view of a .cabinet-or safehaving al section of one wall broken out so as toillustrate features of the'invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentarysection of one corner ofthe cabinet shown in Figi; Fig. 3 is an enlargedfragmentary portion ofl the'invention; A Y v p Fig. 4' is apartiallydiagrammaticl viewof suitable type of safe, vault or cabinet having an outer wall 6 and an inner wall 7, which, if

desired, maybe of sheet metal. The walls of the lateral sides, top and bottom, vas well as of the door, are preferablyspaced apart so as to enclose insulation, as hereinafter desrbeir.

- 8 indicates an insulating body which', inthe Y preferred form, is itself a good insulator and is of relatively porous texture.` In the form shown I'employ plaster of Paris Vto form theV main body or matrix in the section 8. The

matrix is provided, preferably uniformlydisso'y tributed throughout, with water carriers, Y

are designated 9 9 in the drawings.. Each lump visi preferably coated 0rl enclosed 'in a suitable water impervious envelope or jacket 10, such as paraffin, so as to protect the vae ri'ous lumps or water carriers against the-.loss

of moisture and also against the possibility i of the undue absorption of moistureiincase a deliqueseent material should be employed.

This protectingr coating or lenvelope likewise protects' and ensures against. any chemical Lacs,

tion being set up between theparticular care.V

rieremployed andi' any surrounding body; Before use the` matrix -is preferably.- dried: to.

a substantiallyfconstant Weight so there'isfsub;

stantially no' free or- Vuncombined moisture, g

present, and when used'in asafe for exampleA there` will bene-danger of corrosion or damage! to the walls or contents ofthe safe. ObviiousfI ly, the i-nsulation may be reinforced,- ifdesired, with any suitable' type or. reinforcef ment, such as Wire nettingor th'e'.liln.=;,.to give added. mechanicalil strength, if4 this be found` necessary. Y

'l Newy vthev insulation as shown partieularl-y inFigure 3, if desired, maybe employed. alone and without Yother insulation. However,Y in

safe construction Iprefery toremploy otherfand lighter insulation'. outside of` the insulation 8,'

so asto retard the transmission ofheatitoithe insulation 8. *In the form shownlinterposeia z layer 11v of suitable .materiahsuch as asbestosl f insulation, kieselguhr, or other form 0f, dry" heatinsulation'. It is prefer-red,.howe.ver, .to

make the outer-or shielding insulation '1:1 of' substantial body andftoV secureltheV inneriinr, i

sulating' sections 8 thereto.Y in anyy lsuitabley 3.

manner, so that theftwo layersof' insulation maybe handled and: applied? as; aunit.

The

total insulation Vor any .part thereof; obviously j may be sectional? instructure or.-y be' a mono,-v lithi'c casting. As above indicated,` allthe walls of the'y safe, asiwelli. as ythe door,`.y are preferablyprovided. withV the; insulation` as above deseribed. .Y Y n Y Now if a; lirev occurs, theaheatwillbe trans.-l mittedh quite slowliydepending. upon. the character: of thei'ns" tionxLl-.employed and reo the thickness thereof, as well as upon the outside and inside temperatures. The heat will be transmitted also quite slowly through the main body or matrix 8 of the inner insulation. As soon as the temperature at the insulation 8 rises above a predetermined point, which varies with the character of the water carriers 9 employed therein, much of the heat will be utilized or absorbed in vaporizing the water which is given up by the water carriers 9 9 distributed throughout the block 8. This vapor will pass through the porous block 8 and, upon reaching the cooler interior portions thereof, will again condense. Obviously, the Vtemperature in the block 8 may rise only slightly higher than the boiling point of water so long as there is any unvaporize'd water present. As soon as all of the water of crystallization is given up by the crystals in the outermost layers of the block 8, the temperature further inward in the block rises and the moisture which has previously condensed on the interior portions is again vaporized, thus slowing up the transmission of heat to the interior of the cabinet, which ultimately is the location to be protected. The same action takes place completely through the block 8. As shown particularly in Fig. 2 in an exaggerated fashion, perhaps, the inner lining plates in the safe may be arranged so as to not tit tightly, or the inner wall may be otherwise vented, thus permitting some vapors to reach the inside of the cabinet, to prevent undue drying out or charring of documents in the cabinet should the temperature eventually rise suiiciently for that to occur.

yW'ith the heat being transmitted relatively slowly, it will be seen that it will take a relatively great length of time to vaporize all of the available water, and the interior of the safe will thus be protected. Manifestly, the insulation 8 and 1l may be made as thick as desired, and the quantity of available water may be varied as desired, so that a safe of any desired characteristics, that is, one which will withstand high temperatures for any desired length of time, may be constructed.

I consider the enclosing of the water carriers in protecting coatings or coverings as of the greatest importance, in that they will remain intact and ready for service for an indefinite length of time. Again, no appreciable amount of moisturev will be given up by the carriers which are thus protected, and if the insulation be otherwise put in dry, there need be no fear of corrosion of the walls of the safe nor of injury to articles within the safe due to moisture from the insulation.

scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An insulation construction including a supporting body, particles of salts` containing water of crystallization supported by said body, said particles being substantially individually enclosed in frangible, impervious coating envelopes, whereby said coating envelopes may be ruptured and Water vapors given off upon subjecting said insulation construction to relatively high temperatures.

2. In the combination defined in claim l, said frangib'le, impervious coating envelopes being formed of parain.

3. An insulation construction including salts containing water of crystallizationenclosed in envelopesV of parain and imbedded in a matrix of plaster of Paris.

4. An insulation construction including particles of alum enclosed in envelopes of paraiiin and imbedded in a matrix of plaster of Paris.

5. An insulation construction including a supporting matrix of substantially dry material and particles of salt containing water of crystallization enclosed' substantially individually in impervious, frangible coating envelopes, said coated particles being em- Jlpedded in and held by said supporting marix.

6. An insulation construction including a layer of insulation having secured thereto a matrix of porous material, said matrix carrying salts containing water of crystallization, said salts being enclosed in impervious, frangible envelopes.

7. An insulation construction including a .layer of heat insulation, a matrix of plaster ot Paris secured to said layer of insulation, said matrix having imbedded therein salts containing water of crystallization, said salts being enclosed in envelopes of paraiin.

ROSER B. SUTTER.

While the invention has been described in 

